These ladies were quite delighted with the splendour and bustle of Milan
and particularly when I took them to the _Scala_ theatre, where a very
splendid _Ballo_ was given, intitled _Sammi Re d'Egitto_. The scenery and
decorations were magnificent, being taken from Denon's drawings of Egyptian
views, and the costume was exceedingly appropriate. My fellow travellers
were much struck at the appearance of the horses on the stage and the
grotesque dancing. The last scene was the most magnificent. It represented
the great Pyramids, on the angles of which stood a line of soldiers from
the _base_ to the _apex_ holding lighted torches. The _coup d'oeil_ was
enchanting. I took the ladies to see my old friend Girolamo and in fine was
their _cicerone_ every where. We remained only four days at Milan and then
proceeded to Florence, where we arrived on the 7th October. We employed six
days for our journey and one day we halted at Bologna. After remaining four
days at Florence and taking the Radicofani road we arrived at Rome the 18th
October.
At Rome I met my friend P.G. and his wife who were travelling towards
Naples and I likewise made two very pleasant acquaintances, the one a
Portuguese, the other a Milanese.
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